Zack, I'm getting something powerful, very powerful how powerful just as powerful as Eternal Darkness It can't be him I was barely able to send him to the Void It's not him but It' pretty dang close Zack takes a pensive look as he focuses on the gathering trying to over hear as much as possible

From behind you, you hear the sound of ponies arguing and they are getting closer.

"I am begging you to be patient! Without her help our revolution will fail and we will all die for nothing!" The first voice is male, low and oily.

"You sound like Dashing Orange!" The other voice is distinctly feminine, though far gruffer then the first voice. "His caution did save him from the dungeon and his attempts to save the princess lead to the lose of half of his own followers in that Cloudsdale attack. We need to act now, while there is still a chance for us to do some real good!"

You all move back behind cover as a group of five ponies round the corner, heading too the main room. All five are wearing regular bronze, the two in the back don't look to different from your own regular companions, the two in front, a large pegasus mare in lighter, flight armor and a thin unicorn stallion are still arguing. However it is the pony in the middle, removed from the argument, but clearly still listening is a very familiar earth pony. General Songbird turns his head towered your hiding spot as he passes and though he dose not slow or show any sighs of having seen you, you have the uncomfortable feeling that he some how sensed that you where there.

{He will reach the main room by the next post and then you can eves drop or you can act now before they meet up with the main group. Your call.}

I want him Zack thought reaching for his sword Zack stop that woun't get us anywhere, whoa I can't believe I'm being the voice of reason yes very surprising Zack's thoughts calm as his hoof leaves his sword's hilt Now to gather that info

The general and his guards enter the main room and our grated by a stomping of hooves and the ponies see them. After the stomping quiets, the general speaks. "Friends, comrades, brothers and sisters, I am glad to see so many of you alive and well!" There is another round of stumping and a few cheers from the crowd. Once that dies down Songbird continues. "But that joy is tempered by thous faces I do not see. To many of us lay dead or imprisoned within this very place, lives and livelihoods scarified for the good of all pony kind."

The room grows quite as all eyes are now riveted on the general. The two arguing ponies do not look away from the general, but neither looks as enthralled as the crowd. "We stand here at a cross roads. You know me and I am sure there are some of you who still think of me as a traitor or a deserter." Nopony says a word, but several shift uncomfortably. "It is true that I left The Children when I was promoted to the position of general in Equestria's regulars and it is also true that there is no love lost between myself and our orders prior head, but I hold no ill will towered Dashing Orange now, except in how he handled the 'rescue' mission at Cloudsdale." At this there are some murmurs from the crowed, most positive, but some clearly less so.

Songbird waits for them to quite before continuing. "While Dashing's motives where pure and while his attack did save the guard's pony from the false queen, to many of our own where lost in the attack! Not to mention how many innocents died!" The general's normally unshakably calm determiner cracks slightly as his voice rises to a shout. "It is time for us to end the this once an for all! You all know what this will mean. I am asking each and everyone of you to commit high treason!" His voice echos through the cavern and for a time there is nothing, but shocked silence. Then a hoof sticks the ground. Soon the cavern is filled with the defining sounds of stomping hooves. Over it all you can hear the general's voice clearly. "FOR THE DEAD! FOR THE WRONGLY IMPRISONED! FOR EQUESTRIA! FOR LUNA! "

by Faust this lunatic is about to start a war "your call Princess" Zack said shock evident on his face. He had dealt with monsters, mega maniacal mad ponies, even a shadow pony who sought the end of life but never had he been face to face with a pony on pony War.

"This situation is treacherous Luna wipers urgently. There this crowed is riled and ready to attack at the slightest provocation. If I step out now they will see it as vindication for there actions and even if I order them to say the high emotions may just cause them to ignore my words for my presence and just attack. We need to calm them enough for my words to be heard." Luna looks at the general. "Songbird is devoted to three things above all else. Equestria, thous under his command and then to myself and my sister. If you confront him with his own men in toe he will not order the crowed to fall upon you before you have had a chance to speak."

"We do not need a grand speech." Luna says, a bit more sharply then before. "We just you to go out there and distract them. Divert there attention from there single minded drive for revenge so that they will not take any and all sighs as auspicious proof of the rightness of there cause!"

"I can try." Zack says marching out "Songbird!" Zack yells causing Songbird's followers to shift to either side "I knew some thing was off about you, tell me how long have been working to tear Equestria in half huh, how long have you been planing to rip families apart, I can understand your ancestral duty to keep the records for Princess Luna but what your all doing here is starting a war for nothing and you should fell ashamed of your selves."

There is angry muttering all around you as you march towered the general, but upon seeing the three ponies guarding you the stomps a hoof. "Let them through! We are not going to start shading innocent blood over harsh words!"

As you reach the general you can see his two argumentative comrades move to block your way, but they are gently pushed aside by Songbird himself who moves to confront you.

Facing him like this you can see that the yellow earth pony is actually a fair bit shorter then you and proportionally built almost more like a mare then a stallion, but his bearing and commanding voice seem to radiate an authority divorced from gender, race or stature. Fully decked out in bronze armor he seems like a different pony then the bureaucratic who you had meet in the hospital.

His face is set in a scowl as he speaks loud enough for his voice to carry. "Considering that my predecessor throw away the lives of dozens of good ponies, all to save yours and that you since then not only failed to end this conflict non violently, like he had hoped I would take a much less accusatory tone with me, colt. In fact you put him in a position to have him arrested, after doing Luna knows what to Bottle Rocket, the only other pony nevi enough to think that saving you was worth the price in our brothers and sisters blood!Do you know where he is now? Because I don't! Your own brothers in the royal gaurd dragged him out of his bed, while he was still in critical condition keep in mind, on Celestia's orders!" There is loud grumbling from the crowed.

Songbird glares at you. "The princess has gone mad, we have held the truth about Luna's own madness to know the sighs and to know what that will mean. The day has already gone on to long and the pretender queen and her forces ravage the smaller towns as the gaurd holds down the larger cites on the orders of a madmare who sees all of this as the return of her most feared and hated adversary. Equestria is falling apart around us and if action is not taken then the land will burn as the cities became prisons under the eyes of the gaurd and the never ending day." Songbird voice rises once again to a battle cry as he shouts, "UNLESS WE STOP IT! We will save thous who have been falsely imprisoned and then bring down the tyrant! Once she is stopped we will move out to take back our homes from the invaders!"

The crowed roars in response and starts to stamp there hooves in argument. The guards with you look between you and the general, clearly unsure of what to do.

{Quick note. I am going with the now decanonized word of Faust that said that Luna's turn to darkness was purely internal and not the effect of an outside influence. As only the children and the princess know this for sure now a days, Zack can believe whatever he would normally, but Luna will back up Songbirds claim if asked.}

"so that's your reasons for hurting so many innocent ponies, families, and friends" Zack's face turns to anger fueled glare "Right, well I guess I can't appeal to a heart that doesn't exists but at least I still know who I serve" Zack rose to stand on his hind legs with his katana floating above him "I Colonel Zack Marcus royal guard division two serve the nation of Equestria under lead of Princesses Luna and Celestia" after putting his katana back on his back "they lead me but I am not blind to ether's shortcomings"

{if you want have Songbird question Zack's loyalty, i thought up a fair bit for Zack to say if he did}

Songbirds faces hardens as his voice chills. "If your willing to put blind loyalty to your leaders before the lives of innocents then you are an enemy to all of Equestria and everypony in it." He shifts into a fighting stance and his four guards follow suite. "If you have any sense of morality or honor left you will stand down, Colonel, otherwise the blood of all of thous who die for the princess paranoia will stain your hooves as much as hers."

{In a one on one fight you could easy take the general as is not as strong as you and a less experienced fighter. On the other hand, he is a cleaver strategist and good judge of value. You do not recognize the guards around him, but considering that they are the personal picks of the most senior and highest ranking military officer in the nation and are backed up by a small army of regulars, cultists and sprite ponies, a straight fight might not even go your way even if Luna and the mane six where to join you. Se be careful how you chose your next words or your first actions, because as I said before. You can die before the story reaches its end.}

Zack shakes like a leaf his face, a perfect representation of fury "enemy of the nation... how dare you, how dare you, call me a enemy of this nation. I who have saved this nation countless times, many a time taking thing into my own hooves against the will of the princesses, and you would call me traitor" Zack finishes and forces him self to a more calm state "I doubt most of the ponies here are guilty of much more than following a jackass, and I will not stain my hooves with innocent blood just to get at you so, I surrender" Zack what the hell are you doing they'll kill you!!!